Results 11,841-11,860 of 23,956 for speaker:Charlie McConalogue

Select Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Estimates for Public Services 2021
Vote 30 - Agriculture, Food and the Marine (Revised) (30 Mar 2021)

Charlie McConalogue: No, that was entirely Exchequer funded. The previous beef emergency aid scheme was co-funded between the Department and the European Union. The Deputy asked about the reduced numbers in the sheep welfare scheme. I extended that scheme and it is very much down to the numbers applying and participating in it. It is as open as it was previously. I am trying to choose a reference year that...

Select Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Estimates for Public Services 2021
Vote 30 - Agriculture, Food and the Marine (Revised) (30 Mar 2021)

Charlie McConalogue: We have discussed this on many occasions. There have been significant challenges in respect of the forestry programme, especially around the issuing of licences from the Department. This emanated from a change in the level of ecological input required in licences compared with before. This led to a significant logjam last year. It became acute at the end of the year and is still acute...

Select Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Estimates for Public Services 2021
Vote 30 - Agriculture, Food and the Marine (Revised) (30 Mar 2021)

Charlie McConalogue: The environmental schemes are important anchor schemes within Pillar 2. They have had a good success rate in terms of farmers being willing to participate in them. They have returned a good deal for the rural countryside and the environment. They have been significant in respect of the income they have generated and provided for farm families. They started off with the REPS and we then...

Select Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Estimates for Public Services 2021
Vote 30 - Agriculture, Food and the Marine (Revised) (30 Mar 2021)

Charlie McConalogue: I thank Deputy Fitzmaurice for those questions. Regarding GLAS, as the Deputy is aware, I provided for that scheme to be continued this year during the transition period. It had been at full participation levels up to this point. Some farmers decided not to extend their participation in the scheme by one year, so that accounts for the drop-off in participation levels.

Select Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Estimates for Public Services 2021
Vote 30 - Agriculture, Food and the Marine (Revised) (30 Mar 2021)

Charlie McConalogue: Yes, that explains the approximately 6,000 fewer farmers in this category.

Select Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Estimates for Public Services 2021
Vote 30 - Agriculture, Food and the Marine (Revised) (30 Mar 2021)

Charlie McConalogue: Those 6,000 farmers chose not to renew their participation in the scheme for this year.

Select Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Estimates for Public Services 2021
Vote 30 - Agriculture, Food and the Marine (Revised) (30 Mar 2021)

Charlie McConalogue: Obviously, the opportunity was there for them to take part. I worked to ensure the way in which GLAS was extended was as practical and free of hassle as possible to allow farmers to continue to be able to participate and to undertake actions as part of the scheme instead of it being an additional burden on them. Having said that, however, about 6,000 farmers-----

Select Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Estimates for Public Services 2021
Vote 30 - Agriculture, Food and the Marine (Revised) (30 Mar 2021)

Charlie McConalogue: -----decided to not continue participating in GLAS for an extra year. Turning to the knowledge transfer scheme, the Deputy is right. It is tapering off coming out of the outgoing CAP. Programmes that were running had come to the end of their timeframe. In the previous year, there was €5 million in the area of knowledge transfer. Closing out those schemes this year will see that...

Select Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Estimates for Public Services 2021
Vote 30 - Agriculture, Food and the Marine (Revised) (30 Mar 2021)

Charlie McConalogue: I thank the Deputy. My objective as Minister is to support farmers and farming incomes in every way I can. I am constrained in how I can do that in a transition period between one CAP programme and another. I maximise every opportunity available to me to try to ensure that every opportunity is provided to farmers to continue to have their income maintained, hence the continuation of the...

Select Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Estimates for Public Services 2021
Vote 30 - Agriculture, Food and the Marine (Revised) (30 Mar 2021)

Charlie McConalogue: I thank the Deputy. First, I refer him to my earlier comments on forestry. I totally agree with him on the fact there is a massive challenge here and much of it lies at the Department's door with regard to the delay in licensing. There were reasons and backgrounds for that in terms of the change in legislation and the court decision which very much changed the level of input, particularly...

Select Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Estimates for Public Services 2021
Vote 30 - Agriculture, Food and the Marine (Revised) (30 Mar 2021)

Charlie McConalogue: I do not have those specific figures but I will get back to the Deputy on how much is going to grants and afforestation. The significant majority of the funding goes to recurrent annual premiums, as opposed to the one-off afforestation grant that is a smaller part of the overall annual budget. In the past couple of years we have seen a carry-over from the forestry budget in the form of...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Departmental Communications (25 Mar 2021)

Charlie McConalogue: The details sought by the Deputy are as follows: Department Oireachtas@agriculture.gov.ie Minister@agriculture.gov.ie State Bodies 1. Aquaculture Licensing Appeals Board Oireachtasqueries@alab.ie 2. Bord Iascaigh Mhara Oireachtas.queries@bim.ie 3....

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Protected Disclosures (25 Mar 2021)

Charlie McConalogue: I propose to take Questions Nos. 248 and 249 together. As required under the relevant legislation, my Department has a Protected Disclosures Policy in place under which a staff member who wishes to make a protected disclosure may do so to any of the following confidential recipients: - an independent confidential service engaged for this purpose, - the Head of the...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Afforestation Programme (25 Mar 2021)

Charlie McConalogue: An application for an afforestation licence and the Afforestation Grant and Premium Scheme was received in October 2019 for the person named and has been referred to my Department’s Ecology Unit. The application site is near eight designated sites including the Killarney National Park SPA. Therefore, the impact of any afforestation operations on the sites and the surrounding...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Animal Diseases (25 Mar 2021)

Charlie McConalogue: The person named had a TB breakdown in 2011 during which a number of calves were identified as reactors. The calves were euthanised on farm with the consent of the herdowner. My officials have engaged extensively with the herdowner over the past several years on this issue. The person named has had a number of meetings with senior officials of my...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Basic Payment Scheme (25 Mar 2021)

Charlie McConalogue: The eligibility of the Parcel Number in question would be considered in line with the requirements set out in the Terms and Conditions of the Basic Payment Scheme each year.  These requirements include the carrying out of an agricultural activity and having the land available to the applicant for a period from the beginning of the year until after 31st May or for a period before...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Inland Fisheries (25 Mar 2021)

Charlie McConalogue: The National Inshore Fisheries Forum (NIFF) is a consultative body, established to foster industry-led development of proposals for the management of non-quota stocks within six nautical miles of the Irish shore. The NIFF is supported by a network of six Regional Inshore Fisheries Forums (RIFFs) that cover the Irish coast. Since their inception, the Forums have developed initiatives seeking...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Forestry Sector (25 Mar 2021)

Charlie McConalogue: I propose to take Questions Nos. 254 and 256 together. I am aware of the issues facing the forestry sector and the timber industry and considerable efforts have been made to address  them. Additional resources have been recruited and training, information and guidance has been provided to both Departmental staff and registered foresters and, as a result, we have seen gains...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Forestry Sector (25 Mar 2021)

Charlie McConalogue: I wish to inform the Deputy that the Forestry Appeals Committee (FAC) is operationally independent of the Department. Up to 6thOctober 2020, the legislation governing the FAC provided for only one committee to hear appeals. The introduction of the Forestry (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2020 made provision for the establishment of additional sub-divisions of the FAC to deal with...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Departmental Policy Functions (25 Mar 2021)

Charlie McConalogue: Progressing Disability Services is a reform programme for Children’s disability Services and comes under the remit of Minister of State for Disabilities, Anne Rabbitte T.D. I understand Minister of State Rabbitte has provided a reply to the Deputy on this issue.